Praxis CEO, Bill Barrable, encourages Hockey Canada to put the health and safety of youth first

In a July 28 letter to the editor in the Globe and Mail, Bill says Hockey Canada is not following research that shows removing bodychecking from boys hockey will reduce health, injury risks.

The Letter

Re Hockey Canada Gets Dragged, Kicking And Screaming, Into The Year 2017 (July 27): As Hockey Canada continues to unravel, I recall a 2013 meeting of scientists and hockey officials in Whistler, B.C. It was to discuss the evidence of three-times risk reduction for removing body-checking from boys hockey and hastening implementation. Attending were Hockey Canada and USA Hockey.

When asked why USA Hockey had already banned body-checking for young boys, officials replied that it impedes skill development. I asked Hockey Canada officials why they had not yet followed the research. They replied with “governance.” The room went silent with the realization that the hockey establishment was closed to evidence. It was disheartening for me to hear that Hockey Canada was not accountable.

Hockey Canada should be reformed with a transparent and accountable governance body that really does put the health and safety of our youth first. Tragic that it may require the spectre of sexual assault to catalyze these changes.

Bill Barrable CEO, Praxis Spinal Cord Institute

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Read the full story in the Globe and Mail [subscription]

Hockey Canada gets dragged, kicking and screaming, into the year 2017
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-hockey-canada-gets-dragged-kicking-and-screaming-into-the-year-2017/ [subscription]